Translator: Nox

Chapter 5

I’ll Save My Dad

I’ll Save My Dad, Episode 6

Episode 6

After Dad and Sherry left Pebble House.

I found myself in a subtle standoff with Anne.

“Sherry said there are rabbits on the West Gate trail. Should we go see them?”

I wanted to head toward the West Gate, where the Red Eagle Knights’ training ground was located.

“The West Gate? That’s too far, My Lady. Instead, why don’t you tell me more about your time in Bonwell Village?”

Anne, alone with me in the room, was trying to dig for information about how Dad had lived.

Back in Bonwell Village, I was a master at catching crawfish. The secret was scouting the right spots and using appetizing bait.

You just have to imagine what bait looks most delicious to a crawfish and dingle it right in front of them!

“Aww, well, I guess it can’t be helped then.”

I flopped onto the bed and spoke to Anne, who was busy tidying up clothes.

“Oh, right. The other day, I went to the fruit shop with Dad and saw a wanted poster—”

“A wanted poster for Master Raytan?”

And the most delicious bait for Anne was Dad’s unknown past.

At the bait I dangled, Anne stopped what she was doing and hurried to the bed to prompt me further.

“You saw a wanted poster with a bounty on it in front of the fruit shop? And then?”

“And then, we couldn’t even buy strawberries…. Yawn. I’m sleepy.”

“My Lady, if you sleep more now, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“But I have nothing to do….”

“Would you like to go see the rabbits?”

“But it’s far…?”

“It’s a manageable walk if we take it slow. It won’t be boring if we talk along the way.”

“Really? Should I ask the other maids if they want to come—”

“They’re all too busy; they won’t be able to.”

Hooked by my bait, Anne took it upon herself to keep the other maids away. She must have calculated that a private conversation would be easier.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

‘He-he.’

The fishing trip was a grand success.

After leaving Pebble House with Anne, I wondered how long we had walked.

‘This is it!’

Even though I had never seen the building before, I recognized it instantly. Holding Anne’s hand, I came to a dead stop.

“My Lady? The trail is further ahead.”

“Anne…”

I looked up at her with watery eyes, filled with a sorrowful gaze.

“My legs hurt so much, I can’t walk anymore…”

To Anne, this was a bolt from the blue.

Yesterday and today, she had seen me being carried around by Dad constantly at Pebble House.

Judging by her confused expression, she was probably thinking, ‘Do I have to carry her too?!’

But unlike Dad, who could lift me with one arm like it was nothing, Anne was just an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl.

A few meters might be one thing, but carrying a seven-year-old like me for over a kilometer was impossible for her.

“Oh, what should I do? There’s no one around to ask for help…”

To begin with, the western wall didn’t house any living quarters for the direct bloodline, so people rarely visited the area.

The only place to find help was the knights’ training ground.

‘Take courage, Anne!’

However, since the place was crawling with knights, it must have been intimidating for a maid of only five months to enter alone.

The massive Red Eagle banner hanging from the building fluttered imposingly.

Faced with the two choices of carrying me or entering the training ground, Anne hesitated before asking me.

“…Can you really not walk at all?”

I nodded and looked up at her, putting on the exact expression Marshal Grandmother used to describe.

“Don’t give me that look. Even if you act like a soggy little chick, you still have to take your medicine.”

I wondered what kind of face a soggy little chick made.

Regardless, Anne let out a groan of contemplation before seemingly making up her mind and crossing the threshold of the training ground. She sat me down on a bench in the courtyard and gave me strict instructions.

“Stay here for a moment. I’ll go bring a knight I know. Okay? You mustn’t leave the building.”

“Okay! I won’t go outside!”

Seeing me answer so readily, Anne left me alone without a hint of suspicion and entered the main building.

‘Just as planned!’

As soon as Anne was out of sight, I began wandering around the training ground. Since they said Crown Prince Theon had entered the Travel family around the same time I did, there was a high chance he was here.

What I was aiming for was a meeting disguised as a coincidence.

I didn’t know when my uncle would kick Theon out, so I had to make contact as quickly and as often as possible. Making friends takes time, after all.

‘Let’s just introduce ourselves today! Then I can head back to Pebble House before Dad gets back. There’s plenty of time!’

---

Boing. Boing.

‘I can’t seeeee.’

The first-floor hallway of the annex.

I was jumping up and down with all my might, trying to see through the window.

The windows, designed for adults, were so high that even on tiptoe, I could barely see the frame.

‘I can hear Rex’s voice, so I really want to see inside.’

I decided to try jumping with a bit more force this time.

‘One more time!’

I put all my strength into my feet, bent my knees, and leaped with all my might.

“High thrust!”

Right then, Rex shouted the name of the next movement. Perhaps because the loud noise startled me, I managed to jump higher than before—!

“Whoops.”

I locked eyes with a knight standing near the window.

“High thrus… t?!”

Gah. I was caught.

The knight’s voice cracked mid-shout, and as I landed on the floor, my heart hammered like a thief who’d been caught red-handed.

“…st…?”

After a brief silence, Rex’s angry voice drifted out from the training ground.

“Who’s making such a pathetic sound during sacred training hours?!”

“Uh, Total Vice Commander. There’s something I need to tell you.”

We had only made eye contact for a split second, but it seemed the knight had no loyalty and intended to tattle on me immediately.

“Something to tell me?! Aisel! That’s your problem—that mindset! How unfocused must you be during training?! In my day!”

Rex’s shouting grew louder.

If Rex found me, I’d be forced to go back to Pebble House, wouldn’t I? I wouldn’t have an excuse to stay here.

‘I haven’t even seen Theon yet, I can’t get caught already…!’

In my panic, my mind raced for a solution.

Because of that, I didn’t notice the person passing by me to enter the training ground.

“I brought what you asked for.”

“Ah, in a moment, Theon. The Total Vice Commander is angry right now.”

‘What?!’

Amidst the quiet conversation, a single name struck my ears. I turned my head belatedly, but the back door of the training ground had already closed.

‘I have to get inside…!’

To even say hello to Theon, I needed an excuse to enter. The back door? The front door?

“In my day, I wouldn’t even dream of looking away during training! Master Raytan—”

“Dad?”

Using the mention of Dad’s name from Rex as an excuse, I ran to the nearest door, stood on my tiptoes, and pulled the handle.

It was the front door.

“…….”

The gazes of over thirty knights shifted toward me in unison.

Their expressions clearly asked, ‘Who is that kid?’

When embarrassed, smiling is the best defense.

I grinned brightly and asked as if I knew nothing.

“Is my dad here?”

---

“Master Raytan’s daughter?”

“She doesn’t look like him at all…? Are you sure she’s his biological daughter?”

“That’s the mystery of life. That cuteness didn’t inherit a single bit of her father’s foul expression.”

“There was a reason he retired to raise a child. With a daughter like that, who cares about the Holy Sword?”

“It matters. It’s the Holy Sword.”

I could hear all their whispering.

I was sitting on a large chair the knights had brought from somewhere. My back didn’t even reach the backrest, so it felt more like I was perching on the edge.

A plush red cushion stuffed to the brim, with ornate gold carvings on the legs and armrests.

It was entirely my uncle’s taste.

‘Ugh. I bet he sat here and gave the knights unsolicited advice.’

My uncle had a romanticized dream of becoming a Family Head who mastered the sword, but unfortunately, he had to give up that dream in his youth. Not only did he lack talent, but there was a genius right next to him who could do anything.

Namely, my dad.

‘Since my uncle loves being the center of attention and anything flashy. He lacks the skill to match his greed, though.’

Perhaps that was why he took out his stress by visiting the training ground whenever he felt inferior to the direct bloodline. It was a petty behavior, finding joy in watching the knights move exactly as he ordered.

To think they had to take training commands from someone with no swordsmanship skills.

‘Victims of workplace harassment right before my eyes….’

I looked pityingly at Rex, who was fidgeting nervously in front of me.

The Total Vice Commander of the Red Eagle Knights. Rex appeared frequently in my other memories.

Seeing him in person, he really was as massive as a bear. I heard he was afraid of small living things because he feared they might pop if he touched them.

“Uh, Lady Berry? I believe Master Raytan is currently out…”

“Yes! He said he’d be back before dinner!”

“I see. I’ve sent someone to the Master’s annex, so someone will be here soon. …But, did you come here alone?”

“Yes! Can I wait here?”

“Well, we are in the middle of training…….”

“Total Vice Commander, since Lady Berry is here, why don’t we call it a day?”

One knight didn’t miss the opportunity to suggest it, but there was no way Rex would fall for that.

Rex turned around, his eyes flashing like a wild bear’s.

“Do you think you can defeat an enemy with that lazy mindset, neglecting your training?”

“N-no, sir. What I just said was a joke…….”

“Right now: 500 push-ups, 500 overhead swings, and 50 laps around the training ground. Move!”

“……Yes, sir.”

He then turned back to me, looking restless again.

“Then, would you like to wait in the Head Commander’s Office? There are delicious snacks and cute dolls there….”

“I’d love to!”

When I nodded, Rex’s face brightened as if he had found the perfect solution.

“I’ll assign a knight to guide and escort you. Aisel, take Lady Berry—”

Oh, no! Then all my effort to get into the training ground would be for nothing!

I quickly pointed somewhere and asked Rex.

“Can I ask my friend to go with me?”

“Your friend?”

The knights’ gazes followed the direction I was pointing.